A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work.

Sunday, 15 January 2017

Professor Jack Scarisbrick who has stepped down after 47 years as Chairman of Life has been at the cutting edge of educational work about abortion in Britain.

His publication 'What's Wrong with Abortion' was what convinced me personally in 1973 that defending the lives of unborn children was the greatest human rights struggle of the 20th century.

I know that all of SPUC's supporters will join me in thanking and congratulating Professor Scarisbrick on his incomparable work for unborn children and their mothers. For over 45 years through the work of Life, Professor Jack Scarisbrick has built a compassionate and life-saving network of support for mothers facing hardship during pregnancy. His work has been a jewel in the crown of the pro-life movement in Britain.

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

50 years ago today, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), was formally established at a meeting at the Wig and Pen Club, Strand, in London, the world's first pro-life group. Spare a prayer for the founding members including Alan Smith, who continues to be a member of SPUC's Executive Committee, and Elspeth Chowdharay-Best (née Rhys-Williams), who continues to be the redoubtable honorary secretary of Alert, a body which campaigns against euthanasia.

Amongst those elected to serve on the Society's first executive committee was Professor Ian Donald, who pioneered the use of diagnostic ultrasound in medicine.

Over 8.7 million children are missing from Britain since the passing of the Abortion Act 1967. We've got to stop abortion in our country. The job of the pro-life movement in 2017 is to make the idea of stopping abortion in the UK completely normal. It is normal not to kill children.

During 2017 SPUC has an ambitious programme to take the pro-life message to people throughout the country. Contact rhoslynthomas@spuc.org.uk to find out about SPUC's 50th anniversary events, so that you can be a witness to life and help SPUC help you save lives.

Monday, 2 January 2017

SPUC Scotland's motivational message issued today via Twitter is: "The fight for the right to life is not the cause of a special few, but the cause of every man, woman and child who cares not only about his or her own family, the whole family of man" - the words of Dr Mildred Jefferson, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, a prominent, outspoken opponent of abortion and the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School who died in 2010.

How true! And yet, sadly how few people, including people we know personally, realise this truth.

2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of the passage of the British Abortion Act, which has been responsible for the killing of around 8.7 million unborn children – with all the devastation that has involved for countless mothers, fathers and other family members. Let’s resolve to do much more to build our pro-life movement into a great, historic, really effective movement which stops abortion in the UK.

SPUC is launching this year a commemorative tour visiting towns and cities the length and the breadth of the country, taking with us our message and plan of action stopping abortion in the UK. If you want SPUC's commemorative tour to visit your area, contact katherinehampton@spuc.org.uk

Help SPUC to help you to stop abortion in the UK.

In February 2016, Live Action produced a compelling series of videos which remind us exactly why abortion must stop. If you haven’t watched them, I recommend you do now. Dr Levatino, the former abortionist who features in the video, is speaking at SPUC’s youth conference in Stone, Staffordshire (3 – 5 March). Any young person(16 – 35) wishing to attend should contact rhoslynthomas@spuc.org.uk as soon as possible.

John Smeaton

About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog.

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